The contrast between the post-race scenes at the opening grand prix of the season in Australia and Sunday's finale in Abu Dhabi could not have been more extreme. The balmy Middle East evening rounded off a weekend that had worked perfectly, provided a dramatic chase involving the new world champion and finished with tearful farewells and not a hint of protest or complaint.

Compare this to Melbourne on 29 March and a chilly evening with a nasty edge that would slash its way through much of the season with such devastating effect that 2009 will be remembered for the politics just as much as Jenson Button's drawn-out but well-deserved championship.

Button's fairy tale started in Melbourne as the Brawn team confounded every prediction by winning a race they did not expect to be in, never mind dominate from start to finish. The former Honda team had been without an owner since December 2008 but rivals' pleasure at having Ross Brawn's buy-out keep the entry healthy took on a more cynical dimension when Brawn's cars proved to be indecently quick.

Brawn's aerodynamicists had discovered a loophole buried within technical changes demanded by the 2009 regulations. The addition of a so-called double-diffuser at the rear brought superior grip and performance when cornering. Brawn were not alone in their discovery but made the diffuser work better than anyone else. Protests and complaints came thick and fast from the seven teams that had either considered the double diffuser illegal or missed it altogether.

Brawn would win the day in every sense by making the most of their advantage while the rest caught up. Had the stewards' decision gone the other way, it is likely that Red Bull – the best car without a diffuser – would have walked the championship rather than losing time making the necessary modifications and giving Brawn a hint of what might have been by winning six races, including the final three.

The surprise over Brawn's rush to the front was matched by McLaren's messy nose-dive to the back. The McLaren-Mercedes was hopeless but, just as Lewis Hamilton thought life could not get any tougher for a reigning world champion, a simple event occurred that would have huge repercussions.

Having qualified 18th in Melbourne, Hamilton was happy to find himself in fourth place when the safety car appeared with a few laps remaining. That became third when Jarno Trulli slid off the road, leaving Hamilton with no alternative but to overtake the Toyota, even though such a move is technically forbidden in a safety car situation. McLaren, desperate not to suffer a heavy penalty, ordered Hamilton to allow Trulli, who had regained the track, to return to third.

Detail of this verbal instruction was not passed on to the race stewards – or never asked for by them in a proper manner – as Trulli was penalised for having overtaken the McLaren. When McLaren's radio transmission came to light, Hamilton and McLaren's team manager, Dave Ryan, were hauled before the stewards at the following race in Malaysia. Ryan was sacked and Hamilton's subsequent press conference, one of the most toe-curling moments in the history of the sport, presented the view that he had been told to lie. There are some within Formula One who remain convinced that Ryan, a McLaren employee with an impeccable record, was made a scapegoat, as was the team principal, Ron Dennis, who, allegedly by coincidence and nothing to do with the foregoing, suddenly left the team he adored to look after other aspects of McLaren's business.

McLaren responded in the best way by making the recovery of the season. They returned to basics with the car and put the smile back on Hamilton's face as he won twice and scored more points than any other driver in the second half of the season. Hamilton would have challenged Sebastian Vettel for the win on Sunday had he not suffered his first retirement in three years with mechanical trouble. Even as McLaren packed up on Sunday, they did not know why one of Hamilton's rear brake discs had worn excessively.

The reason for Nelson Piquet Jr's retirement from the 2008 Singapore grand prix had seemed clear-cut; the novice had lost control of his Renault and smashed into the wall. That much was true. But, in one of the biggest scandals to rock the sport, it emerged almost 12 months later that Piquet had been ordered to crash and engineer circumstances that would hand victory to Fernando Alonso in the other Renault. Compared with this, McLaren's problems in Melbourne, and with the 'Spygate' affair in 2007, were small beer. Yet Renault received a mere reprimand, although the team principal, Flavio Briatore, was banned for life.

Dennis reappeared in Abu Dhabi, not in a management role with his team but, coincidentally, at the first race without Max Mosley as the FIA's controversial president. Mosley's successor, Jean Todt, was on hand, beaming at all and sundry. It matched the mood of the moment and it is to be hoped this will continue into 2010. But, being F1, you have to doubt it.

Five things to be resolved before the start of the 2010 F1 season

Drivers

Jenson Button and Brawn need to sort out their financial differences. Button took a voluntary £5m pay cut to help out the team in 2009, a sacrifice that paid off for all concerned. The least he expects is a return to the original £8m agreed figure. Brawn say they have not got the money but are "90% certain" the deal will be done. As Christian Horner, boss of Red Bull said: "What's the matter with them? They're world champions. They should do the deal." Button's best option is limited to McLaren, as a partner to Lewis Hamilton. "If I was Jenson, I wouldn't do that," said Sir Jackie Stewart. "When I was racing, there was no way I would have joined Lotus, even though it was a very competitive team. But it was Jim Clark's team; it had been built around him. It's the same with McLaren and Lewis. Jenson doesn't need that."

Races

Bernie Ecclestone and Silverstone must come to terms – and quickly. The demise of Donington and a saga that ended in failure to raise £134m leaves the British grand prix without a home for 2010. Silverstone, having been snubbed by Ecclestone in favour of an optimistic 17-year deal with their East Midlands rival, must resist the temptation to squeeze Ecclestone's assets in public as he faces being blamed for removing one of Formula One's classic venues from the calendar. Each side needs to allow the other to avoid a loss of face. But time is running out and Silverstone must get going soon in order to meet the July date. The Northamptonshire track also needs more than a lick of paint for many parts that have fallen behind Formula One's standards.

Teams

Plans to expand the entry for 2010 and welcome four new teams – Lotus (no relation to the former champions), Campos Meta, US F1 and Manor – are not as straightforward as they seem. It was one thing to make plans for such a big step when there was talk of a £40m ceiling on expenditure; quite another to enter such an intensely competitive arena when the budget cap disappeared during the struggle for power between the existing 10 teams of the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) and the FIA. Newcomers now face spending twice as much as planned and there are doubts if they can afford it. BMW-Sauber, on the sidelines following BMW's withdrawal and the purchase of the remnants by the dubious Qadbak company, await a slot created by the non-arrival of one of the four. Fota, as yet, does not have unanimous agreement to expand the entry beyond 14 to allow Sauber back on board.

Administration

Jean Todt faces a sceptical Formula One world after his election as successor to Mosley as president of the FIA. Todt was known for his obdurate ways at team meetings when running Ferrari but he must call on the same brilliant skills as administrator and motivator which brought such success to the Italian team. Todt's first task is to prove he has no bias towards his former employer and that he is free of Mosley's pervasive influence and controversial administration. Formula One needs to move away from confrontational methods governance and it will be Todt's job to ensure that the stewardship of races is fair and avoids dragging the sport through its courts in such a public manner. Todt is more than capable but his intent must be clear before the 2010 season gets motoring.

Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore commenced legal proceedings against the governing body at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris in an attempt to have the lifetime ban against him overturned. A preliminary hearing in Paris confirmed a date for 24 November. This will revisit the staged crash by Nelson Piquet Jr that gave victory to his Renault team-mate in the 2008 Singapore grand prix. Briatore's exceptional ban excludes the Italian from many other facets of his management business and has been seen by some cynics as a Mosley-inspired punishment for Briatore being a leading force in a planned breakaway by Fota in July. This matter needs to be concluded, one way or the other.